ESL or LSL hybrids in a breeding program

Boutique Tomatoes · October 20, 2012

Reading various other breeders posts I've come to think that incorporating some of the genetics of commercial hybrids in a breeding program to get a good base of disease resistance and tolerance factors, resistance to skin splits, etc. is a good idea.

One of the things I noticed in my grow out of a large number of heirloom and OP varieties this year was that some varieties had much better hang time and shelf life. A home gardener with a few plants would likely not be looking at this as a factor when choosing a variety, but even for the few hundred plants I had this year dealing with the harvest every day became a headache after a while. As I'm looking at partnering with a local charity next year to grow a much larger number of plants I've been considering this factor a lot, and want to incorporate these characteristics into my breeding plans.

What genes are involved in the ESL or LSL hybrids? I'm assuming it involves rin, and as far as I can tell that one doesn't work well in a subsequent generations, you get things like Tom Wagner's Gold Keeper where 25% of the plants fully ripen fruit, 25% will have hard/extra firm fruit and 50% have firm fruit. (this variety and it's percentages used only for example.)

If this is the case, is rin really only useful in F1 hybrids? Are there other genes at work in the ESL or LSL hybrids that might be useful? Or would I be better off looking at OP varieties that exhibit better hang time and shelf life and encorporating them?

frogsleap farm · October 20, 2012

There are a couple of regulatory "genes" (transcription factors) that regulate several steps in the pathway of genes controlling fruit ripening. Two have been used some in commercial breeding: rin and nor, with rin the most popular. In the homozygous state both prohibit normal ripening, bu in the heterzygous state give the desired LSL (long shelf life) phenotype. The typical use of these is in the production of F1 hybrids where one of the parents (probably the male parent) is rin/rin and the hybrid is rin/+. Virtually all of the fruit from Mexico picked vine ripe is from rin hybrids. There is no good application of the technology in OP varieties.

Boutique Tomatoes · October 20, 2012

Thanks Mark. I assumed as much from what I had read, but then I also saw where a few people had done some breeding with these types so I thought I would ask.

maccherone · February 2, 2018

Hello,
what is a good source for ESL gene?

frogsleap farm · February 2, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by maccherone

Hello,
what is a good source for ESL gene?

I used Mountain Magic as a source the "rin".

maccherone · February 3, 2018

I didn't see Mountain Magic. I used some Israeli hybrid variety like Ikram.
Someone know a source of ALC gene?
Maybe hybrid with ALC gene have a better LSL.

crmauch · February 6, 2018

Do de colgar varieties have longer life and are they OP? Or are they just multifloral?

Nan_PA_6b · February 7, 2018

I grew the OP version of Keepsake this past year. I picked one that was full sized & had been around a while, so I thought it would ripen quickly in the house. It took 2 weeks to ripen on my kitchen table, and then lasted another 4 weeks on the table, temp around 78-81F. I only have the one data point. I have some seeds saved if you'd like, PM me.

Nan

October 20, 2012	#1
Boutique Tomatoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Northeast Wisconsin, Zone 5a Posts: 1,109	ESL or LSL hybrids in a breeding program Reading various other breeders posts I've come to think that incorporating some of the genetics of commercial hybrids in a breeding program to get a good base of disease resistance and tolerance factors, resistance to skin splits, etc. is a good idea. One of the things I noticed in my grow out of a large number of heirloom and OP varieties this year was that some varieties had much better hang time and shelf life. A home gardener with a few plants would likely not be looking at this as a factor when choosing a variety, but even for the few hundred plants I had this year dealing with the harvest every day became a headache after a while. As I'm looking at partnering with a local charity next year to grow a much larger number of plants I've been considering this factor a lot, and want to incorporate these characteristics into my breeding plans. What genes are involved in the ESL or LSL hybrids? I'm assuming it involves rin, and as far as I can tell that one doesn't work well in a subsequent generations, you get things like Tom Wagner's Gold Keeper where 25% of the plants fully ripen fruit, 25% will have hard/extra firm fruit and 50% have firm fruit. (this variety and it's percentages used only for example.) If this is the case, is rin really only useful in F1 hybrids? Are there other genes at work in the ESL or LSL hybrids that might be useful? Or would I be better off looking at OP varieties that exhibit better hang time and shelf life and encorporating them? Last edited by Boutique Tomatoes; October 20, 2012 at 03:48 PM.

October 20, 2012	#2
frogsleap farm Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Minnesota Posts: 568	There are a couple of regulatory "genes" (transcription factors) that regulate several steps in the pathway of genes controlling fruit ripening. Two have been used some in commercial breeding: rin and nor, with rin the most popular. In the homozygous state both prohibit normal ripening, bu in the heterzygous state give the desired LSL (long shelf life) phenotype. The typical use of these is in the production of F1 hybrids where one of the parents (probably the male parent) is rin/rin and the hybrid is rin/+. Virtually all of the fruit from Mexico picked vine ripe is from rin hybrids. There is no good application of the technology in OP varieties.

February 2, 2018	#4
maccherone Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Europe Posts: 9	Hello, what is a good source for ESL gene?

February 3, 2018	#6
maccherone Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Europe Posts: 9	I didn't see Mountain Magic. I used some Israeli hybrid variety like Ikram. Someone know a source of ALC gene? Maybe hybrid with ALC gene have a better LSL.

February 6, 2018	#7
crmauch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Honey Brook, PA Zone 6b Posts: 399	Do de colgar varieties have longer life and are they OP? Or are they just multifloral?

February 7, 2018	#8
Nan_PA_6b Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 3,194	I grew the OP version of Keepsake this past year. I picked one that was full sized & had been around a while, so I thought it would ripen quickly in the house. It took 2 weeks to ripen on my kitchen table, and then lasted another 4 weeks on the table, temp around 78-81F. I only have the one data point. I have some seeds saved if you'd like, PM me. Nan